Singing Towers
by pinetree13
Summary: This story is the Doctor's last night with River Song. It's pretty fluffy, so I decided to rate it T. Please review
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first fanfic ever, so please review and tell me what you think!_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who, and that is definitely for the best.

**The Singing Towers**

**Chapter 1**

River Song sat there in her cold, dark cell at Stormcage, planning her next adventure. She had gotten the idea from something a guard had been saying to another while passing by on their daily rounds. Something about deadly shadows at the Library. Of course, she was immediately interested. She had used all the resources available to her and managed to pull together a team of five others who had already been planning to observe the Library. This had all been a month ago, though. Since then she spent all her time studying the _vashda Nerada_: killer shadows.

She was now completely prepared, which was good considering the trip would be tomorrow. All she had left to do was to configure an escape plan. That would not be hard.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar whooshing sound coming from behind her, for she was facing away from the outside of her cell. At first she had just dismissed it as a guard tampering with the air lock, but as the noise continued, she realized it had been way too long since he had come. She smiled to herself. The Doctor was in.

***Earlier***

The Doctor sat in the TARDIS, thoroughly and utterly bored. He had been knocking around on his own for a while; having his own adventures. Now, he realized that he couldn't possibly do this on his own any longer. The worst part was the loneliness. He didn't even have any idea of where to go next. Everywhere he could think of he'd either been kicked out of or held no interest for him if he didn't have a partner.

He suddenly remembered something he'd heard long ago. Something about the Singing Towers. He did not remember where he had heard it, but for some reason his mind immediately associated this place with River Song. He had no idea why, since they'd never been there before, but he took this as a hint. He would fly to Stormcage, break her out (again), and take her to the Singing Towers. He pulled a few levers, and the TARDIS did the rest with a joyful hum, as she was just as eager to have company as he was.

***Present***

River didn't turn around, just waited for the Doctor's greeting. "Hi, honey, I'm home!" he said brightly, as usual.

"And what sort of time do you call this?" she asked while turning around. In a matter of seconds the Doctor had soniced the lock on her cell and pulled her into his arms. He could have stood there all day, taking in the sweet smell of her, but she eventually said, "I'm sorry, sweetie, but we should probably be leaving before the guards realize I'm out again."

The Doctor didn't answer, only swept her off her feet and carried her into the TARDIS. Once inside, he set her back on her feet and gave the TARDIS the order to leave, as the coordinates were already in. He moved back over to River and pulled her in for a kiss. They stood there like that—locked in embrace with arms wrapped tightly around each other. Finally River pulled away, saying, "So when are we?"

After synching their diaries, they discovered—to the Doctor's squeal of joy—that they were positively linear. "So where exactly are we going, dear?" River asked as they flew through time and space.

"It's a surprise," he replied with a sly smile.

River winked as she said, "Oh, come on. Just give me a hint." The Doctor said nothing, only smiled mysteriously and pulled her into his arms again. She found his lips, and they were kissing again. Her fingers entangled in his rich brown locks as his found her curls. River decided not to ask about their destination anymore after that. By the time they landed—which hadn't seemed long at all—they were both out of breath.

River was the first one out the door. She took a glance around. "Darillium?"

The Doctor again smiled that sly, mysterious smile. "You'll see," he said, hardly able to contain his excitement. He hopped out of the TARDIS and took River's hand. Soon they were winding their way through the rugged terrain, while River was still uncertain as to where they were going. They cut through a small forest and into a clearing at the edge of a cliff. Now River knew why they were here.

She saw large, stone towers reaching up from the valley below. As though these were not an incredible sight as they were, they also produced the sweetest sound either of them had ever heard (and for the Doctor, that is a great achievement). There were no words, only the sweet, powerful melody echoing off every inch of the valley.

For a while, all either of them could do was stand there, mesmerized. Then, the Doctor snapped out of it and said, "After you," while motioning for River to sit. While sitting there staring at the Singing Towers (which the Doctor thought should actually just be called the Musical Towers), the Doctor felt a pang of guilt somewhere deep down. For some reason, however, he couldn't put his finger on why this was. He shooed it away, as he would not let it obstruct an evening with River Song.

They were now laying down, the sun warm on their faces. The Doctor wrapped his arm around River, and pulled her into him. River wrapped her arms around him. He tucked his head under hers to place a long, slow kiss to her neck, and he could feel her cool breath in his hair. She then pulled his chin up to kiss him properly on the mouth. They kissed slowly, the music of the Towers calming them. Though they kissed over and over, the Doctor still felt that mysterious pang in his heart, and the closer he got to River the worse it was.

River noticed that he had begun to space himself a little more and wondered what she had done wrong. They were linear, so he shouldn't have any problems with this. She pulled away with an expression of confusion mixed with hurt. The Doctor, realizing what had happened, pulled her closer and said, "River, I'm sorry. You know I love you. I love you more than anything. It's just…nothing. No, nothing. Everything is positively perfect." He thought better of telling her, as he didn't want to ruin this.

It was now sunset, and they lay there together, entwined, staring at the sun (or whatever star it was) as it made its way through the horizon. The nagging feeling the Doctor had had was now stronger than ever. He was so close. All of a sudden, he recalled a conversation he'd had before his last regeneration. He recalled the Library and River sitting in that deadly chair. He recalled everything she had said, especially the part about their last night together… at the Singing Towers.

This realization hit him like a tidal wave. At first he became stiff and incredibly pail. River noticed his arms become rigid around her. "What's wrong, my love?" she asked, worried. It didn't matter, though, because he couldn't speak.

_It's today_, he thought, _today is our last day together. River will die tomorrow, and it will be all my fault. I brought her here today. I could have waited another century! Stupid, stupid Doctor! I have just led her to her death!_

"Doctor?" River tried again, becoming frantic. But he couldn't take it anymore. He began to cry. It was now dark, but River could see the tears on his face reflect the moonlight. They kept coming, more and more, and the worst part was he couldn't tell her anything. Not one thing. River misinterpreted the tears to mean that he found the towers overwhelmingly beautiful, and drew him in for another kiss.

The Doctor pulled her even closer to him. He would not miss out on anything if this was to be their last night together. They were kissing more forcefully now, and the Doctor was still crying. At one point, he simply broke down and began muttering, "Please, please."

Once he had composed himself as best he could, the Doctor stood up and took River with him, and they made their way back to the TARDIS. When they were on board, the Doctor did not go to the controls as usual, but rather to a small cabinet. River stood by the consul, waiting. He brought back a screwdriver and a small gun, and held them out to her. "Please take these," he said.

"A sonic and a squareness gun? What use could I possibly have for those?" she asked, thoroughly confused.

"Please, just trust me," he replied with a sense of urgency. "Just this once, I need you to trust me." River hesitated, but eventually took the gifts and, in return, handed the Doctor her Alpha Mason gun.

"I doubt I'll need this on my next adventure. Take good care of her." The Doctor didn't argue since he did know that she wouldn't need it. She tucked the items into her pockets, as did the Doctor.

The Doctor took off his jacket, and helped River with hers. _This _is_ our last night together, _he thought, with the hint of a smile. River seemed to be reading his mind. She took his hand and led her to their room.

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Doctor Who.

**Chapter 2**

The TARDIS clock said it was the middle of the night. The Doctor had woken up after a terrible nightmare in which River Song died as he watched. When he had woken, he found that reality was not much better. River would die in the morning, and it would be his fault.

For now, though, he could just lie there and pretend that that would never happen. He could convince himself that he will save her. He felt her bare skin warm against his and planted a kiss in her mass of curls. She seemed to have felt this, as she subconsciously pulled him closer to her. He did the same, pretending that maybe if he held her tight enough, she wouldn't have to leave, wouldn't have to die, and they could just be like this forever.

River woke to find the Doctor crying, silent tears rolling down his face. She again wondered if she had done something to upset him. "What's the matter, my love?" she asked in a pained voice.

"Nothing, nothing," he answered quickly as he attempted to wipe the tears off his face.

Of course, she knew when he said "nothing" something was always wrong. She didn't say anything, only buried her face into his chest and went back to sleep. The Doctor slept too, hoping that maybe he would wake up to find out it was all just a cruel nightmare.

The Doctor woke up hours later and reached out for River. She was not there. He was immediately wide awake. He began frantically searching the empty bed sheets as if she were just hiding. He hurriedly pulled some clothes on and began a more in-depth search of the TARDIS. He looked in all of River's favorite rooms, all to no avail. Soon he became practically hopeless and fell to a heap on the floor of the console room.

The Doctor was too panicked to cry. His mind was going a million miles an hour. There was so much he hadn't said, so much they hadn't done. All of these hopeless, desperate thoughts flooded his mind, and he began begging the TARDIS to send River to him on the off chance she was still there. He was about to completely abandon any hope he still had when he heard a worried voice behind him.

"Doctor? Doctor, what's wrong?" River Song rushed to his side, wondering what he could possibly be so upset about. She sat down next to him on the floor. "River!" he practically shouted. "River, where were you?"

She looked confused. "I had only gone to get some breakfast, sweetie." The Doctor's expression was desperate now, at least more so than before.

"You can't leave! Promise me you won't! There's no way I could possibly fly off to see the universe without you! Just stay a little longer." Though the tears had not yet fallen, River could hear them in his voice.

"Sweetie, I've got important things to do today. You'll need to take me back to Stormcage eventually."

"Not today. Please, River just one more adventure." She did not fully grasp why he was acting so strangely, but she accepted.

The Doctor's first reaction was sheer excitement. _River wouldn't die today. _He didn't put in any coordinates. "Just send us where we need to go!" he yelled to his beloved blue box, and she sent them whirring through the time vortex.

River, by this point, was now thoroughly confused. She had let it go when he had cried at the Singing Towers, or when he brushed of her questions in the night, but now she could not take it anymore. Something was not right. Something was upsetting the Doctor, and she was determined to find out what. "Doctor, you know that I would follow you anywhere in the universe, —as I'm sure that's exactly what's happening now—but I need some answers. What's going on? Please, tell me. I know you're used to doing things alone, but I'm here now, and I can help if you only tell me."

The Doctor actually seemed to think this over for a moment before answering. "I'm sorry, River I just can't. So can we at least enjoy this last adventure?"

"Last?"

The Doctor's face paled, and he became stiff as he realized what he had just said. He immediately began searching for a cover-up. "Um, er, yes. Last. As in this will be our last adventure together before I must return you to prison."

River's expression was suspicious at first, but then she thought that she probably shouldn't press the matter any further. _Spoilers. _

The rest of the journey was fairly silent. The Doctor was pressing buttons that didn't need pressing, while River quietly undid the mistakes. After only a couple minutes the TARDIS landed, and the Doctor jumped down the stairs to open the door for River, both of them trying to look excited for the other's sake.

River smiled at him with her usual mischievous grin before actually looking at what lay outside. When she did, though, she became confused again, and turned to the Doctor, saying, "I wonder why she brought us here again. We just visited the Singing Towers."

The Doctor's heart dropped as he grasped the situation. He realized that this was the TARDIS's way of telling him what he needed to do and what had to happen. He slammed the door quickly before River could exit and began to shout. "What are you trying to tell me? This was a cruel joke, even for you! You know exactly what I mean!"

River couldn't stand him yelling at the TARDIS like that, so she stepped forward. "Sweetie, you and I both know that something is terribly wrong, and the sooner you tell me, the sooner I can help you," she said pleadingly.

The Doctor looked torn. As if he really wanted to tell her but couldn't for some reason. He knew that was exactly the case. However, instead of letting her see through him, he put on his best brave face and began babbling as usual. "So since the TARDIS is being a bit unruly today, I suppose I'll just punch in the coordinates and take us somewhere amazing. How 'bout a planet where it is always sunset? The day never changes, so it never becomes tomorrow!"

River sighed and decided that it would just be better to go along with whatever he said. "Sure, dear. It sounds magnificent."

The Doctor pressed a few buttons and pulled a few levers, and soon they landed. This time the Doctor peered out the door to make sure that they had reached the correct destination. He saw where they were and sighed. "Stormcage." This was it. He had been defeated by his own TARDIS. He knew this was what must happen, but he still found it impossible to accept. "River," he said softly, "I'm afraid this will have to be goodbye."

River could see exactly how much this was hurting him, and decided not to speak. She instead wrapped her arms around him and brought his lips to hers. He gladly returned the kiss, relishing the last few moments they had left. She began to kiss him more forcefully, and the Doctor pulled her closer, not wanting to miss one thing. He was about to lift her off her feet when she pulled away and said, "I really must be going now."

The Doctor did not cry. He walked her over to the door and opened it, their hands still firmly clasped. He looked her in the eyes, and she could see every single year reflected back at her. "Goodbye," he whispered as she walked out the door. He held on to her hand for as long as he could, and then . . . he let go.


End file.
